Washington Insight

MIXED REVIEWS: Ambassador Shirley Temple Black comes home this summer after three years in Czechoslovakia, where she was a hit with the people--but didn’t escape criticism. . . . “With that name and being American ambassador, how could she not be popular?” asked one Prague resident. But critics complain that Black, who arrived just before the 1989 upheaval, never caught up to the new conditions. . . . Black, who at 64 still has her famous dimple, will be remembered for witty speeches and an informal nature--wearing white sneakers for a walk around Wenceslaus Square during a 1989 demonstration, for example. But some Czechoslovaks said she could also be aloof, skipping diplomatic parties and receptions even when they were held in her residence.